Clothes washing machine with oscillating tub



April 24, 1956 J. c. ROMINE 2,742,772

CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE WITH OSCILLATING TUB Filed May 1, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l I N V EN TOR. JbSEP/l 61 Pan/Me Arron/as April 24, 1956 g, ROMlNE 2,742,772

CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE WITH OSCILLATING TUB Filed May 1, 1953 Z'Sheets-Sheet 2 FIE 5 I N V EN TOR. Jszxw 6. PoM/A/E QMM v AA Q ATTORNEYS reasons.

CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE WITH I OSCILLATING TUB Joseph C. Romine, Detroit, Mich. Application May 1, 1953, Serial No. 352,402

' Claims. c1. its-23) This invention relates flto improvements in clothes washing machinesof the domestic variety, and more particularly to improvements in the type of machine in which the washing action is accomplished by oscillating the tub containing the clothes and the washing liquid, by contrast with machines in which washing is accom plished by means of a separate agitator.

Oscillating tub machines have been proposed heretofore but in most cases, to my knowledge, they have been relatively ineffective for the reason that the tubs were oscillated only through a short arc or at small amplitude but at a comparatively high rate or frequency'of oscillation. It is, of course, well known to those skilled in the art that the effective washing of the clothes requires very critical attention to the motion imparted to the clothes, not only to thoroughly clean the clothes in the atentO' shortest possible time but also to prevent them from becoming tangled or damaged during the washing operation. Previous high speed and short arc oscillating machines have been found to jumble and tangle up the clothes as well as to do a relatively ineffective washing job and they have been largely abandoned for those the tub is oscillated at a comparatively slow speed but through a much longerarc or amplitude, so as to overcome the previous disadvantages of other machines. For

It is accordingly the primary object of my invention to provide an oscillating tub washer in which example, and according to my present thinking in the T I matter, I contemplate the oscillation of the tub through afull one-hundred eighty degree are but at a speed of only twenty to thirty oscillations per minute, whereas in most previous machines to my knowledge the oscillation has. been somewhere within and generally well below one-hundred twenty degrees but at a frequency of from I fifty up to as much as two-hundred oscillations per minute.

The oscillation ofthe, loaded tub through approximately a half-turn in-opposite directions, of course, re- I practical oscillation of the tub to the desired degree.

The modern trend domestic equipmentof this nature is to further provide for the drying of the clothes not-only by centrifugally extracting the water, or other cleansing liquid,-but further to apply heat in some mannerto the clothes so that they are completely dried. As a further object of my invention I propose to combine :both the washing and drying of the clothes in the single machine by'the provision of some sort\of heat source by which radiant heat or heated air may be directed on the-clothes, following the centrifugalextraction of themajo'rity of the liquid therefrom. Attempts to combine drying and washing in, a single .machine, where tli'washing is accomplished by a separate agitator, have 2,742,772 Patented Apr, 2 4, 1956 ICC been unsuccessful for the reason that on completion of the centrifuging cycle the clothes are plastered tightly against the walls of the tub and only the exposed portions of the clothesfwill be dried by the application of' heat thereto, whereas other portions will remain quite of the clothes being repeatedly exposed to the heat so' that thorough drying of theclothes is readily possible.

An important phase of the operation of machines of this nature is also the separate expulsion of accumulated sedimentary material from the tub so that it cannot be commingled with the clothes during the centrifuging cycle, as is disclosed and claimed in the George P. Castner Patent No. 2,470,140 of May 17, 1949. This collection and separate discharge of sediment is accomplished'by the provision of a means at the bottom of the tub'into which the material may settle during the washing operation and then'the connection to such accumulating means of risers of some form, so that this accumulated material may be centrifugally expelled along a path separate from that taken by the water or cleansing liquid itself, all as clearly described in that patent. It is a further and important object of my invention, therefore, to accomplish'this desirable function by the provision of hollow-ribs or fins in the oscillating tub, which not only function to tumble the clothes for proper washing thereof but also function as risers and are connected with a means at the bottom of the tub for the accumulation of sedimentary material, so that this material may be expelled from the tub without coming in contact with the clothes.

These. and other more detailed and specific objects will be disclosed in the course of the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in whicha t Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view, partially inside elevation, of a washing machine embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical and diametrical section through only the tub of the machine, with parts broken away to better disclose the construction thereof.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view along the lines 33 in Fig. 2. i I I Fig. 4 isa fragmentary plan and sectional view illustrating the cushioned drive mechanism for the oscillating tub.

Referring now more particularly and by reference characters to the drawing, it will be noted that the machine, in common with others of this general nature, includes a casing 16 suitably supported by feet 11 upon the floor or other surface 12 and in turn supporting an outer stationary receptacle 13 with an opening 14 at its upper end for placing the clothes in the. machine and removing themtherefrom. No drive motors or related mechanism are here illustrated, since their arrangement is well known in the art, and only such portions of the machine as essential to a proper understanding of my invention will be "described in detail.

Supported within the receptacle 13 is an oscillating tub for containing the clothes and cleansing liquid, said tub being designated generally at15, and shown as customarily formed up from sheet metal with a circular bottom 16 and a circular, upwardly flaring side wall 17. As here shown the upper margin of the wall 17 is turned inwardly at 18 but a short distance therebelow the tub is provided with a circumferential series of escape openings 19 through which the cleansing liquid within the tub may be driven when the tub is rotated for extracting the liquid, as will later appear. During washing the liquid will, of

course, stand at a level somewhat below the openings 19. Also at the level of the openings the tub is provided with a sectional ring 20, the various arcuate sections of which are held in place by means of studs 21 projecting outward through certain of the openings 19 and fitted with nuts 22. These balancing ring sections are spaced inward ly from the tub wall by spacers 23 so that they will not interfere with the escape of the liquid through the openings 19, and in addition to functioning as an annular balancing mass for resisting precession of the tub as it is rotated when the tub is arranged for gyrating movement these ring sections also act as guards so that the clothes will not be driven up over the edges of the tub during the centrifuging cycle as will be readily understood. At its center the bottom 16 of the tub is secured by bolts 24 to a circular drive disk 25 and, of course, the escape of water or liquid is prevented by suitable gasketing of the joint between these elements. Centrally the disk 25 is then secured by screws 26 to a head on an upright drive shaft 27 by which the tub 15 is not only supported from a frame plate 10 as in Fig. l, but also rotated at high speed for centrifuging the liquid from the tub. For the sake of simplicity the supporting and driving mechanism is largely omitted, but it will be noted in Fig. 1 that the shaft 27 is shown as fitted with a pulley 28 by means of which it may be rotated and, further, that the bottom 29 of the receptacle 13 is provided with a central, upwardly extending neck 30 to clear the shaft assembly.

In accordance with my invention I omit entirely the usual oscillating agitator by means of which the clothes are customarily washed, and instead provide for the oscillation of the tub 15 itself about an upright axis, for which purpose there is suitably arranged a transmission unit, designated generally at 31, the filnction of which is to translate rotary motion to oscillating motion. The construction of this transmission unit is not here detailed except as to one part thereof with which my invention deals, but it is to be noted that basically the transmission may be similar in its general functioning to that shown in the Patch Patent No. 1,964,440, issued June 26, 1934. The transmission drives the tub by means of a tubular drive shaft 32, which surrounds the aforesaid shaft 27, and the unit itself is driven by a pulley 33. The transmission unit functions as stated to convert the rotation of this pulley to oscillation of the tub 15 and in order, then, to cause such oscillation of the tub to properly tumble the clothes contained therein, so that they will be thoroughly and effectively washed, the interior of the tub wall 17 is provided with a series of upright, inwardly projecting ribs or fins or rib-like elements, indicated generally at 34. As here shown there are four of such ribs 34 and since they project inwardly it naturally follows that they will function effectively to grasp the clothes as the tub oscillates so as to continuously and periodically rearrange or tumble the clothes, in addition to which it will. of course. be readily apparent that the oscillation of the tub will continuously agitate the liquid content thereof. Obviously, therefore, the clothes will be washed quite effectively but it is extremely important that the arc or amplitude of oscillation, as well as the frequency or rapidity thereof, be properly and eorrelatively chosen in order to obtain a completely effective washing action. Previous attempts to employ washing actions of this type where the tub oscillates about an upright axis have largely been unsuccessful for the reason that the oscillation has been through a comparatively small angle or range, but at a comparatively high frequency. This has resulted in the tangling of the clothes, which in and of itself is extremely undesirable, and has rendered the operation quite inefficient. It is obvious that an oscillating tub type machine is very desirable from the cost standpoint as compared to the more conventional agitator type of machines, since the cost of fabrication and assembly of the agitator and its supporting and operating elements is totally eliminated. Furthermore, the necessity for some sort of seal to prevent the escape of the liquid about the agitator drive assembly is eliminated in the oscillating tub machine and this is particularly important at the present time due to the wide-spread use of detergents which act as degreasing agents with very deleterious effects upon such seals.

In accordance with my invention, therefore, and as indicated in Fig. 3 by the arcuate line and arrow points 35, I propose the oscillation of the tub 15 through a much larger amplitude of movement and, for example, on the order of one-hundred eighty degrees or a halfturn. This range of oscillation is readily possible by the use of a rack and pinion (or sector) type of drive, as will presently appear, and further enables me to accomplish the effective washing of the clothes at a much reduced rate of oscillation, preferably somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty to thirty oscillations per minute. More than adequate tumbling and agitation is thus obtained for eifective washing but without such pronounced movement of the clothes as to cause them to become hopelessly tangled as has been the case in many previous machines. The amplitude as well as the frequency of the oscillations as given above are, of course, for example only in order to bring out the contrast with previous thinking along this line, and I do not, of course, limit myself precisely thereto.

The oscillation of the tub through this large angle or amplitude brings about a problem due to the vibration which would ensue were the assembly not cushioned in some way at the ends of the oscillatory strokes. This may be readily accomplished by the drive shown in Fig. 4, which constitutes the termination of the drive train of the transmisison unit 31, in which it will be noted that the shaft 32 through which oscillation is imparted to the tub is fitted with a pinion 36 with which there meshes a rack 37 carried upon a suitably guided reciprocating pitman rod 38. The rack 37 is not, however, fastened upon the rod 38 but instead is slidably mounted at 39 thereupon for relative endwise displacement. Expansion coil springs 40 are then placed upon the pitman rod and braced between the adjacent ends of the rack and stop collars 41-42 secured to the rod. Thus as the rack reaches the extreme of its movement in either direction and reverses, the vibrations and shocks as the tub itself changes its direction of travel result in the momentary compression of one or the other of the springs 40 and they then function to cushion and absorb these shock forces.

Insofar as the washing action, per se, is concerned the exact construction of the ribs or fins 34 is largely immaterial so long as they provide for proper engagement with, and action upon, the clothes. Preferably, however, they are formed up from sheet metal with spaced flanges 43 shaped to fit the interior of the tub wall 17 to which they may be affixed by spot welding or other suitable means. Furthermore, the sheet metal ribs are provided with opposed, inwardly converging side walls 44 merging with inwardly disposed connecting or inner walls 45, so that in conjunction with the tub wall there are formed hollow, upwardly extending channels, indicated at 46. As clearly shown the ribs 34 extend downwardly to the point where the side walls meet the bottom of the tub and terminate at upper ends immediately beneath the escape openings 19 in the wall of the tub. Advantage may be taken of the formation of these channels 46 so that they will be utilized as risers for discharging accumulated sedimentary material from the bottom of the tub in a fashion quite similar to that described in the Castner Patent No. 2,470,140 previously identified. For this purpose the lower ends of the ribs 34 are provided with inlet openings 47 formed by suitably notching the contiguous portions of the walls 44 and 45, with said openings located inwardly so that sediment accumulated upon the bottom 16 of the tub will be centrifugally discharged through the openings l and into the channels 46 as the tub is set in motion during by means of the bolts 24, at a level coincident with the upper edges of the openings 47. Said disk 48, of course, extends outwardly to meet the wall of the tub where it merges with the bottom 16 and the disk is profusely perforated, as indicated at 49, so that sediment may readily drop down into the space 50 between the true and false bottoms of the tub. At the upper ends the ribs 34 are partially closed by turning the walls 45 outward at 45a, but there are formed outlet openings 51 immediately adjacent the inside of the tub wall and below the ring 20. Thus the channels 46 open at lower ends at the bottom of the tub and at the upper ends open in proximity to the escape openings 19 and, due to the outward flare of the tub walls, the initial rotation thereof as the centrifuging cycle begins will cause the accumulated sediment to be flushed out through the openings 19 quite effectively and without coming into contact with the clothes.

The use of the oscillating tub for washing also makes it possible to obtain an effective drying action on the clothes after the cleansing liquids have been centrifugally expelled. As an example I have shown a heater and fan unit rather diagrammatically at 52 which is located within the casing below the receptacle 13, with a hot air outlet duct 53 extending upwardly alongside the tub and turning downwardly at 54 within the upper end of the tub. The heated air blown from the end 540i the duct, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, will thus be directed into the tub against the clothes therein. It is known to those skilled in the art that, following the centrifuging cycle, the clothes are left in what may bereferred to as a plastered condition against the inside walls of the tub. In such condition it is obviously impractical, by the application of heat of any safe degree and for any reasonable interval, to completely dry the clothes since the exposed portions thereof will be thoroughly dried while those against the inside of the tub wall will remain quite damp. However, the application of powerto my tub 15 to oscillate it as the heat is applied will not only break the clothes loose from the tub wall but will thoroughly tumble them about as the drying cycle continues, so that all portions of the clothes will be exposed to the heat source and effective washing and drying may be obtained in the one machine.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in the structure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Having now therefore fully illustrated and described my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A washing machine of the character described, comprising a tub for containing cleansing liquid and the clothes to be washed, means supporting the tub for oscillation and rotation about a generally upright axis, said tub having a bottom and an upwardly extending side wall operative when rotated at high speed to centrifugally discharge said liquid upward along the wall and then outwardly therefrom,rib elements extending upwardly within said side wall and operative when the tub is oscillated to agitate the clothes for washing, and said rib elements 7 being hollow forming upright channels and having openings at upper and lower ends whereby sedimentary material accumulated at the bottom of the tub when washing will be centrifugally discharged through the lower openings and through the channels and thence from the upper openings and outwardly from the tub.

2. A washing machine of the character described, comprising a tub for containing cleansing liquid and the clothes to be washed, means supporting the tub for oscillation and rotation about a generally upright axis, said tub having a bottom and an upwardly extending side wall operative when rotated at high speed to centrifugally discharge said liquid upward along the wall and then outwardly therefrom, rib elements extending upwardly within said side wall and operative when the tub is oscillated to agitate the clothes for washing, said rib elements being hollow forming upright channels and having openings at upper and lower ends whereby sedimentary material ac-" cumulated at the bottom of the tub when washing will be centrifugally discharged through the lower openings and through the channels and thence from the upper openings and outwardly from the tub, and a perforated false bottom in the tube above the level of the lower openings in the rib elements.

3. In a washing machine having an oscillatable and rotatable tub for receiving cleansing liquid and clothes and said tub having a bottom and an upwardly flaring side wall operative, when the tub is rotated at high speed about an upright axis, to centrifugally discharge the liquid content of the tub, means for rotating the tub to centrifugally discharge the liquid and means for oscillating the tub to wash the clothes, generally upwardly extending hollow rib elements located withinthe tub wall to agitate the clothes when the tub is oscillated, said rib elements extending from the bottom of the tub upwardly to a point in proximity to the point at which the liquid is centrifugally discharged from the tub, and the rib elements having lower end openings facing inwardly to receive sedimentary material settling during washing and having upwardly facing openings at their upper ends to discharge said material along with the liquid centrifugally discharged from the tub proper.

4. In a washing machine having an oscillatable and rotatable tub for receiving cleansing liquid and clothes and said tub having a bottom and an upwardly flaring side wall operative, when the tub is rotated at high speed about an upright axis, to centrifugally discharge the liquid content of the tub, means for rotating the tub to centrifugally discharge the liquid and means for oscillating the tub to wash the clothes, generally upwardly extending hollow rib elements located within the tub wall to agitate the clothes when the tub is oscillated, said rib elements extending from the bottom of the tub upwardly to apoint in proximity to the point at which the liquid is centrifugally discharged from the tub, and the rib elements having lower end openings to receive accumulated sedimentary material from the bottom of the tub and having also upper end openings to discharge said material with the liquid being discharged from the tub, said rib elements each having three side walls and forming with the adjacent surfaces of the tub wall upwardly directed channels separate from the inside of the tub proper for discharging the said sedimentary material.

5. In a clothes washing machine having a tub for con- I rial and upper end openings to discharge said material as the tub is rotated.

References Cited in the'file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 829,631 Cramer et al Aug. 28, 1906 1,849,896 Weiman Mar. 15, 1932 1,971,979 Hitchcock Aug. 28, 1934 2,470,140 Castner May 17, 1949 2,607,209 Constantine Aug. 19, 1952 

